Aerosani
An aerosani (Russian: aэросани lit. aerosled), sometimes known an aerosled or air sled, is a type of snowmobile powered by a large fan or propeller similar to an air boat, which was designed in Russia in the early 1900s, and saw use in the Second World War by the Red Army, with some designs equipped with machine guns and light armor. Aerosani are cheaper than conventional tracked snowmobiles, consisting of a simple wooden or sheet metal sled body with a rear mounted propeller, capable of propelling them at speeds of up to 35 kilometers per hour. During the pre-war period, aerosani were used for transportation, mail delivery, medivac, and military patrols in the Soviet Union and to a lesser extent, Finland. Because of the relative ease of construction, aerosani were popular in the former Soviet Union and Nordic nations, and later more northern regions of North America during the postwar period. History Pre-war Aerosani were first invented in Russia around 1905, possibly by Sergei Nezhdanovsky. Another early designer of aerosani was Igor Sikorsky, who later became famous for designing aircraft. Aerosani saw some military use by 1910, including in the First World War and subsequent Russian Civil War. During the Winter War and World War II, the Red Army operated aerosani extensively, using them for reconnaissance, raiding, and communications, often used with ski troops, who were sometimes towed behind aerosani. After World War II, aerosani continued to be used alongside tracked snowmobiles for transportation, mail delivery, and medivac, mostly in the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent, in the Nordic nations, while more conventional track-and-ski snowmobiles or fully tracked vehicles such as the Snow-Trac were more popular in the West. During the 2030s and 2040s, with the development of first microfission and then microfusion cells, micro-nuclear powered aerosani with far greater ranges than their gasoline or diesel powered counterparts were developed. Postwar During the postwar period, aerosani became highly popular in the former Soviet Union and Nordic nations because of their ease of construction, as a competent carpenter and mechanic could easily piece one together. The aerosani would also appear in northern North America, including Cascadia and Alaska, where they were known as "air sleds", "aerosleds", "prop sleds", "fan sleds", and "snow fans" among other names. It is not clear if aerosani were either brought to North America by the few Russian sailors who braved the Bering Strait in the postwar period, or else developed independently. In the postwar period, aerosani were used both for military uses, sometimes armed with machine guns like their WWII-era counterparts, and also by traders, who allowing trade to continue even as heavy snows blocked up many trade routes. While pre-war vehicles are rare and highly valuable in the post-war period, as they can be manufactured post-war, aerosani are comparatively common in regions that receive sufficient snowfall for their use. In some regions, aerosani are almost as common as more primitive modes of transit such as dogsleds. Because of this, in some regions, trade actually moves faster in the winter when aerosani make motorized transport more accessible, though this is partially moderated by the lower amounts of weight most aerosani can transport, which is considerably less than a pre-war truck or even a draft animal. Design During the pre-war period, both light and heavy aerosani were manufactured in the Soviet Union by factories such as the ZiS and GAZ car factories, as well as the Tupelov aircraft factory. Light aerosani usually had wooden frames and plywood bodies, while heavier aerosani would have aluminium or steel bodies, with military aerosani having up to 10mm of armor, sufficient to protect against small arms fire, as well as mounts for machine gun. Most aerosani carried only one or two men, but some larger models could carry up to five. In the post-war period, pre-war aerosani were used, however, many of them were built after the war in small workshops, initially in Russian and the Nordic regions, and later in Alaska and Canada, constructed either from wood or recovered sheet metal. Most used scavenged microfusion engines from a variety of sources ranging from cars to aircraft to lawnmowers. In some regions, particularly where biofuel or carbon recycling allowed for continued access to hydrocarbon fuels in the post-war period, some aerosani designers experimented with powering sleds with crude ramjets, though are far less common as they developed a reputation for being dangerous to operate after several accidents. While most postwar aerosani are one or two man models, some designs similar to the old Soviet heavy aerosani, which are about the size of small pre-war car have been constructed, and are often referred to as air sleighs or "Snow Boats" in North America. While many were handmade, in the Far Eastern Republic, the refurbished Vladivostok auto factory produced aerosani in the post war period. During the Industrial Revival periods in Cascadia and Alaska, some air sled manufacturers began using more and more recovered pre-war industrial equipment to increase productivity, eventually setting up proper factories and companies such as "Snow Boat" (whose name became a generic term for a large air sled) in Vancouver, Cascadia and the Husky Sled Company in Anchorage (who also manufacture conventional dog sleds). Category:Vehicles Category:Technology